Mina Matin (New York) opened the event by quoting William Mougayar, managing partner at JM3 Capital in Toronto, who said "blockchain cannot be described just as a revolution. It is a tsunami-like phenomenon, slowly advancing and gradually enveloping everything along its way by the force of its progression." And rather like Mougayar's tsunami, Matin said, blockchain technology is "slowly advancing and gradually enveloping" a range of industries, including accounting, banking, trade finance, digital currency, internet of things, healthcare, real estate, energy and, of course, insurance, "by the force of its progression."

Bermuda Premier E. David Burt gave a keynote speech in which he highlighted Bermuda's intention to become a global leader in the FinTech arena through adoption of its FinTech and InsurTech legislative and regulatory frameworks.

Matin, Nicholas Berry (London) and Andrew Lom (New York) discussed how InsurTech is being deployed in a number of industry sectors. The discussion focused on: (i) a general overview on what InsurTech is, where it is being used and how it is impacting the value chain including its impact upon new products, distribution, claims and administration; (ii) the use of blockchain and smart contracts in insurance value chains and related innovations and risk structures, including platforms, parametric products and commoditized smart contract products; (iii) cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings (ICOs) and the crypto ecosystem and its relationship with insurance; and (iv) an overview of underwriting and governance considerations relating to InsurTech including the new insurance policies that are being written and associated risks, legal and regulatory issues and reputational considerations.

Matin also moderated a panel with a number of global FinTech industry leaders including: John Willock, CEO and co-founder of Quantex, Stuart Lacey, CEO of Trunomi and founder of Perseid, and Ari Chatterjee, CUO of Envelop Risk. The panel discussed how cutting edge blockchain, smart contract and artificial intelligence technologies are being deployed in their respective businesses. Willock described how Quantex (a firm client) is aiming to become one of the world's first licensed fiat and cryptocurrency exchanges in Bermuda. Quantex aims to provide a digital ecosystem, including investment services, liquidity enablement and full crypto custody via ultra-fast trading engine technology. Trunomi CEO Lacey talked about the customer consent and data management technologies and platforms that his company provides to businesses, enabling them to comply with worldwide data privacy regulations. He also talked about Trunomi's partnership with Shyft in the launch of Perseid, which provides an E-ID solution for personal identification and authentication and its recent MOU with the Bermudian government in developing blockchain based E-ID technology for the Bermudian people. Envelop Risk CUO Chatterjee explained how his company is deploying augmented artificial intelligence in its approach to the underwriting of complex risks, including cyber insurance and reinsurance.

Over 100 professionals attended the forum, from financial, banking, accounting, insurance, regulatory, legal and other sectors of the Bermudian market.

The Royal Gazette, Bermuda's only daily newspaper, provided coverage of the forum.